TSOU -- The Outsider
HARMSDM
"The Outsider"
Source: _The Best of H. P. Lovecraft_, Ballantine; _The Dunwich Horror_,
Arkham.
Synopsis: A man lives all alone in a castle in a forest, and cannot
remember ever seeing another human being. One night, he crawls up
the castle's highest spire, and finds himself on the surface of a new
land. He sees a palace before him in which a gala affair is being held,
but upon his entrance everyone screams and leaves. This leaves the man
baffled for a while.
Comments: When I read this story, I felt the need to question a few things.
Who is this man? What does he eat? Where does he get his candles? Then
again, does it really matter? I really did appreciate this story, though
maybe it's because it was the first Lovecraft story I ever read. (It was
in fifth or sixth grade, before I knew Lovecraft from a hole in the wall,
but I remember being particularly impressed by it at the time.) Though
Lovecraft's "adjectivitis" comes through here greatly, it doesn't slow
down the story at all. Very Poe-esque, and featuring the classic Lovecraft
ending. I liked it.
"The Outsider" has been one of Lovecraft's most popular stories.
Lovecraft once referred to himself as an outsider, which inspired Derleth
to entitle his first Arkham House book _The Outsider and Others_. Ironically,
it was this choice of a title that also got Colin Wilson involved with the
Cthulhu Mythos, since he had written a book called _The Outsider_ before he
saw Lovecraft's book. Thus, this particular editorial decision in turn
led directly to the creation of _The Mind Parasites_, "The Return of the
Lloigor," and the Hay Necronomicon, which can be seen as either a good or
bad thing, depending on your tastes. (I'm not sure whether the Lovecraft-
occult connection that has received so much attention recently originates
in Wilson's work or not, though.)
As for the terms at the end, "Nitokris" was an actual queen of
Egypt who starred in Dunsany's "The Queen's Enemies" and later turned up
in Lovecraft's "Under the Pyramids"/"Imprisoned with the Pharaohs", which
this story seems to refer to with its feasts "beneath the Great Pyramid."
Nephren-Ka also makes his first appearance here; the evil pharaoh later
turns up in "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" and "The Haunter of the Dark".
(I'm not sure whether Lovecraft or Howard was Nephren-Ka's creator,
however.) In his (partly unpublished) _Necronomicon_, Lin Carter states that
Abdul Alhazred summoned up Tsathoggua in Nephren-Ka's crypt in the valley of
Hadoth; that's about the only other Mythos connection I can think of.
One final note: You may want to look at Thomas Ligotti's "The
Tale of the Outsider" (?) in his recent book _The Agonizing Resurrection
of Victor Frankenstein_. It's a short sketch telling what happens to the
Outsider after the events in this story.
Questions: None
Daniel
Sign
advise you to seek it out and read it before learning of the climax. I
didn't give away the REALLY juicies, but I certainly gave the drift of
them so...
In article <4dlvc1$p...@news.vanderbilt.edu>,
HAR...@ctrvx1.Vanderbilt.Edu says...
>
> The Shadow over Usenet
> "The Outsider"
>
>Source: _The Best of H. P. Lovecraft_, Ballantine; _The Dunwich
Horror_,
>Arkham.
>
>Synopsis: A man lives all alone in a castle in a forest, and cannot
>remember ever seeing another human being. One night, he crawls up
>the castle's highest spire, and finds himself on the surface of a new
>land. He sees a palace before him in which a gala affair is being held,
>but upon his entrance everyone screams and leaves. This leaves the man
>baffled for a while.
>
>Comments: When I read this story, I felt the need to question a few
things.
>Who is this man?
I assumed, from the ending, that he was some sort of undead thing, a
ghoul who has no memory of his former life and has never had any contact
with another living person. From reading through the old books he speaks
of, he came to the natural conclusion that he was a man until the
incident in the ballroom when he realized what he is. He later speaks of
running with the ghouls at night under the moon, etc.
>What does he eat? Where does he get his candles?
If he is truly a ghoul, he may not NEED to eat. The candles and the
forest he speaks of are less easily explainable. Perhaps he misidentifies
them, having no real experience with them, only through his books.
Perhaps he can see clearly in the lightless depths and maybe the dark
forest is simply a labrynthine series of corridors. (But why should they
seem any darker?)
>Then again, does it really matter? I really did appreciate this story,
though
>maybe it's because it was the first Lovecraft story I ever read. (It
was
>in fifth or sixth grade, before I knew Lovecraft from a hole in the
wall,
>but I remember being particularly impressed by it at the time.) Though
>Lovecraft's "adjectivitis" comes through here greatly, it doesn't slow
>down the story at all. Very Poe-esque, and featuring the classic
Lovecraft
>ending. I liked it.
This was also my first Lovecraft story (in _The Outsider and Others_) and
it certainly ranks among my favorites. I have read it alone many times
and I have read it aloud to friends many times as well (very powerful!).
Every now and then I find myself taking this one out and reading it
AGAIN. It just never seems to grow old...
-Sign.
Jason Thompson
SPOILER WARNING! ***
Jack Sign writes:
: If he is truly a ghoul, he may not NEED to eat. The candles and the
: forest he speaks of are less easily explainable. Perhaps he misidentifies
: them, having no real experience with them, only through his books.
: Perhaps he can see clearly in the lightless depths and maybe the dark
: forest is simply a labrynthine series of corridors. (But why should they
: seem any darker?)
The 'forest' always confused and disturbed me in this story. However, I
eventually assumed they were just _roots_... great gray roots winding and
writhing underground. Quite disorienting. As for the candles, I suppose
whether or not he could see in the dark, he might have at some point
forgotten that he could.
Great story; the Thomas Ligotti 'sequel' is also worth reading to see
another level added onto the same tragedy.
Jason B. Thompson
Knygathin Zhaum
Kristy S. Galloway
>Great story; the Thomas Ligotti 'sequel' is also worth reading to see
>another level added onto the same tragedy.
>Jason B. Thompson
>Knygathin Zhaum
What was the title to Ligotti's sequal and in what collection can it be
found. I am an avid Ligotti fan although I have only come across a couple of
his stories they have all been amazing!
Greg Mc.
HARMSDM
From: neu...@uabdpo.dpo.uab.edu (Kristy S. Galloway)
OK. Just for general information, Ligotti has three books out right
now: _Songs of a Dead Dreamer_, _Grimscribe_, and _Noctuary_. (The first
is probably the best.)
The sequel to Lovecraft's "Outsider" is, unfortunately, only a few
pages long. So far, it has appeared in the Ligotti issue of Crypt of
Cthulhu (I think it was #68) and his limited-edition collection _The
Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein_, both of which are pretty
hard to find but worth the attempt nonetheless. Hopefully someone else
can post some information on them.
Daniel
Donovan Loucks
OK. Just for general information, Ligotti has three books out right
now: _Songs of a Dead Dreamer_, _Grimscribe_, and _Noctuary_. (The
first is probably the best.)
I agree with you that _Songs of a Dead Dreamer_ is Ligotti's best
collection. Many others think that his style has become more polished in
his later tales, but I prefer the imagery of his early tales. I've
re-read _Songs_ several times already.
The sequel to Lovecraft's "Outsider" is, unfortunately, only a few
pages long. So far, it has appeared in the Ligotti issue of Crypt of
Cthulhu (I think it was #68) and his limited-edition collection _The
Agonizing Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein_, both of which are
pretty hard to find but worth the attempt nonetheless. Hopefully
someone else can post some information on them.
How lucky I am to have both! Yes, issue #68 of _Crypt of Cthulhu_ is the
special Thomas Ligotti issue. It includes a section called "Selections of
Lovecraft", which contains the _very_ brief tales:
o "The Fabulous Alienation of the Outsider, Being of No Fixed Abode",
o "The Blasphemous Enlightenment of Prof. Francis Waylond Thurston, of
Boston, Providence, and the Human Race", and
o "The Premature Death of H. P. Lovecraft, Oldest Man in New England"
All three of these stories together comprise only 4 pages, each being only
two or three columns in size. I purchased my copy of this issue at the
second NecronomiCon from, appropriately, Necronomicon Press. It's
possible that Marc Michaud still has a couple of copies. Both his e-mail
and snail mail addresses are in the FAQ--check it out!
All three of these items are also collected in Ligotti's _The Agonizing
Resurrection of Victor Frankenstein & Other Gothic Tales_ from Silver
Salamander Press, ISBN 0-940841-64-9. You'll have a tough time finding
this little gem (particularly those that are autographed, like mine), but
you can try Blue Moon Books, the distributor. They're at:
Blue Moon Books, Ltd.
360 West First
Eugene, Oregon 97401
(503) 345-6197 / 485-0947
fax: (503) 485-5890
Corporate Offices
22926 NE Old Woodinville-Duvall Rd.
Woodinville, WA 98072
(206) 788-9128 fax: 788-8268
Hope I got that all right...
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